Naismith Trophy

Joe Boozell | NCAA.com | February 14, 2018

Naismith Trophy Top 30 list announced

On Wednesday, the Naismith Trophy announced its top 30 players in consideration for the 2018 men’s college player of the year. The Big East and Big 12 are tied for the lead with five players each, followed by the ACC and Big Ten with four apiece. The 10 semifinalists will be announced on Feb. 28.

Electrifying Oklahoma freshman guard Trae Young is on the list, as expected. Young leads all Division I players in scoring and assists per game as he looks to lead the Sooners to their second Final Four in three seasons. With a strong individual finish, Young has a chance to average 30 points and 10 assists per game.

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Young isn’t the only freshman on the list. Arizona’s Deandre Ayton and Duke’s Marvin Bagley III, often compared to one another, are also in the running for the Naismith. Ayton is putting up 19.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, while Bagley is averaging 21.2 and 11.4 for Duke. Despite having several well-known teammates, Bagley is the only Blue Devil to make the final 30.

The list contains several upperclassmen, too, headlined by Villanova point guard Jalen Brunson. Brunson has a chance to win his second national championship in three seasons with the Wildcats, and is averaging 20.1 points and 4.7 assists as a junior. Mikal Bridges, Brunson’s teammate, also makes the list. Bridges is shooting a career-high 41 percent from 3-point land this year.

Another talented Bridges, Miles, also makes the final 30. The Michigan State Spartan solidified his candidacy after a huge showing against Purdue over the weekend, where he scored 20 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer. Bridges is the only Spartan to make the list.

Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the creator of the game of basketball, the first Naismith trophy was awarded in 1969 to UCLA’s Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Here's the full list:

NAME

CLASS

POSITION

SCHOOL

CONFERENCE

Deandre Ayton

Freshman

F

Arizona

Pac-12

Marvin Bagley III

Freshman

F

Duke

ACC

Mohamed Bamba

Freshman

F

Texas

Big 12

Keita Bates-Diop

Junior

F

Ohio State

Big Ten

Joel Berry II

Senior

G

North Carolina

ACC

Trevon Bluiett

Senior

G

Xavier

BIG EAST

Mikal Bridges

Junior

G/F

Villanova

BIG EAST

Miles Bridges

Sophomore

G/F

Michigan State

Big Ten

Bryce Brown

Junior

G

Auburn

SEC

Jalen Brunson

Junior

G

Villanova

BIG EAST

Jevon Carter

Senior

G

West Virginia

Big 12

Gary Clark

Junior

F

Cincinnati

American Athletic

Mike Daum

Junior

F

South Dakota State

Summit League

Angel Delgado

Senior

C

Seton Hall

BIG EAST

Carsen Edwards

Sophomore

G

Purdue

Big Ten

Vince Edwards

Senior

F

Purdue

Big Ten

Keenan Evans

Senior

G

Texas Tech

Big 12

Marcus Foster

Senior

G

Creighton

BIG EAST

Devonte' Graham

Senior

G

Kansas

Big 12

Kyle Guy

Sophomore

G

Virginia

ACC

Tra Holder

Senior

G

Arizona State

Pac-12

Chandler Hutchison

Senior

G

Boise State

Mountain West

Kevin Knox

Freshman

F

Kentucky

SEC

Jock Landale

Senior

C

St. Mary's

WCC

Caleb Martin

Junior

F

Nevada

Mountain West

Luke Maye

Junior

F

North Carolina

ACC

Collin Sexton

Freshman

G

Alabama

SEC

Landry Shamet

Sophomore

G

Wichita State

American Athletic

Allonzo Trier

Junior

G

Arizona

Pac-12

Trae Young

Freshman

G

Oklahoma

Big 12

Joe Boozell has been a college basketball writer for NCAA.com since 2015. His work has also appeared in Bleacher Report, FOXSports.com and NBA.com. Joe’s claim to fame since joining NCAA.com: he’s predicted the correct national championship game twice… and picked the wrong winner both times. Growing up, Joe squared off against both Anthony Davis and Frank Kaminsky in the Chicagoland basketball scene. You can imagine how that went.

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